Saturday, April 24, 2010

ANXIETY,

It started earlier in the week when all the airports in northern Europe were shut down for days because of the volcanic ash from Iceland’s erupting volcano. Munich airport, from which I fly to Bologna, was one of them. For 3 or 4 days I was a mess, unable to shake off the fear of my flight being canceled. Eventually the airports opened and flights were restored and I managed to avoid my first ever panic attack. All was well with my world.

I leave in 6 days, and now find myself obsessing over what cloths to wear, how many shirts to bring, should I get new shoes and do I really need to take my pastel pencils. But what bothers me the most is knowing I will not resolve these issues until I pack my bags on the day I leave, at which time I will act impulsively and throw things in and out of my bags, abandoning all reason and forethought. So why fight it. I have already stopped trying to get my mind on something other than this trip...it can’t be done.

I have every intention of sharing my experiences with you on this blog. Whether the posts will be daily, weekly, or somewhere in between remains to be seen. I leave here in 6 days, so I expect to be back on the blog early next week. Until then, I will be thinking of all of you.

Well...that's not really true. I won't be thinking of anything except Italy.